Kathmandu, June 11: The 24th edition of the Bagmati River Festival will be organised by the Nepal River Conservation Association and Friends Club, with the promotion of the Nepal Tourism Board and the cooperation of various private, government and social organisations.

This campaign, which will be inaugurated on the day of the Sithi Nakha festival celebrated by the Newar community, will organise various programmes every week for two and a half months, including river cleaning, environmental conservation, activities reflecting art, literature, and culture, as well as rafting in the river and showcasing the potential of water tourism, read a press statement issued by the Nepal Tourism Board on Monday.

The programme will be held with the guardianship of the Kathmandu and Lalitpur Metropolitan Cities, along with the support and coordination of various artists and activists, the statement said.

Megh Ale, the president of the Nepal River Conservation Association and coordinator of the Bagmati Festival, informed that the festival would conclude with a grand water procession and various activities such as cultural and musical programmmes, a food festival, and friendship rafting on the first Saturday of August.

Considering the need for timely activities and awareness programmes to solve the problems of the Bagmati River, Ale said that the Bagmati River Festival was initiated in the 21st century with the main objective of identifying, conserving, and promoting the Bagmati River civilization.

Bishwas Shah, the president of Friends Club, said that due to the unmanaged settlements along the riverbanks, piles of personal, agricultural, and commercial waste, river encroachment, unmanaged solid waste, and untreated sewage, the river is drying up and becoming polluted, thus necessitating continued public awareness programmes.

Associate Professor and Media Consultant of the Nepal Tourism Board, TP Bhusal, said that due to increasing urbanisation, negligence by Kathmandu residents, policy implementation weaknesses, and lack of interest in cleanliness, the Bagmati River has become malodorous. Hence, everyone’s effort is required to allow the Bagmati to flow naturally, he added.

He said that Nepal holds an important position globally for water tourism, and keeping the Bagmati River clean, considered a major pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists, could enable Kathmandu to benefit from water tourism.

The Bagmati River, which holds cultural, religious, social, historical, and economic significance, is considered the foundation of Kathmandu’s civilisation and urbanisation. 

Starting from Bagdwar in Shivapuri, it flows through the Pashupatinath Temple, listed as a World Heritage Site, and continues to the sacred Ganges River in India. It is considered Nepal’s most sacred and ancient river, the statement said.

The river, which has played a significant role in the livelihoods of riverbank communities since ancient times, has become polluted and malodorous in the 21st century.

The Nepal River Conservation Association, which started this non-profit programme in 2001, is running a large-scale public awareness campaign focused on the conservation of the Bagmati River.